Fansplaining is a podcast and publication by, for, and about fandom.
Fans have never been more visible in mainstream culture—but what does it really mean to be a fan, or to be part of a fandom? Since original co-hosts Flourish Klink and Elizabeth Minkel first met on a panel at San Diego Comic-Con in 2015, the Fansplaining podcast has dug into the conversations shaping fan culture, discussing everything from intersections with the entertainment industry to depictions in the media and conflict within fandom itself.
In the spring of 2024, the podcast went on hiatus as we bid goodbye to Flourish (who is headed for priesthood and parenthood!) after nine years of collaboration. Fansplaining isn’t over, though—our semi-regular publication will now be publishing regularly, and hopefully, the podcast will come back in some form before too long. You can find those pieces (with full audio versions) here, and check out the 250-plus regular and special episodes in the podcast’s back catalogue (with full transcripts) here.
Funding the Fansplaining project!
Since 2016, we’ve been fully supported by listeners via Patreon. Patrons pledge at a variety of tiers—our most popular, $3 a month, gets you access to nearly three dozen special episodes (including future one-offs in which Flourish will return!). Patreon support during the podcast’s hiatus goes directly to the Fansplaining publication. If you’re interested in funding more smart reporting and commentary on fandom (much of which likely wouldn’t be published anywhere else), please consider supporting us.
If you’re not interested in sustained monthly support or prefer not to use Patreon, we also have a PayPal for one-off donations. Even a small amount helps us pay more journalists. (And make more podcasts in the future!)
Your hosts…
Elizabeth Minkel spent close to two decades lurking in fandom—and the past decade talking about it as much as she could. A writer, editor, and consultant, her (mostly fandom-related) writing has been published by WIRED, Atlas Obscura, The Guardian, The New Yorker, the New Statesman, , The Verge, and more. (She’s also written a whole lot of fanfic…) She has a master’s degree in the digital humanities from University College London, where she studied book fans and social media. She also curates the Hugo-finalist fandom newsletter “The Rec Center” with fellow fandom journalist Gavia Baker-Whitelaw. She lives in Brooklyn with her cat, Orlando. Find her on Bluesky or Tumblr.
Flourish Klink started reading X-files fanfic more than 25 years ago and hasn’t come up for air since. They co-founded FictionAlley.org and helped run the HPEF Harry Potter conferences for years, and every once in a while, writing some fanfic. They also earned a master’s degree studying fan culture with Dr. Henry Jenkins at MIT. For ten years, they worked in the entertainment industry, explaining fans to the Powers That Be; they eventually changed careers, followed a call to the priesthood, and now serve a parish in the Episcopal Church. They live in New York City with their family. Find them at flourishklink.com.
Legal details:
Our DMCA Agent is Heidi Tandy, Esq. Reach her at (305) 538-6361, at ip@pricebenowitz.com, or at:
Price Benowitz
1691 Michigan Ave., Suite 360
Miami Beach, FL 33139
Fansplaining is released under a CC-BY-SA 4.0 license.